Mapped · not agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Poplar River Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MN · 47.73856, -90.77783
The site — Poplar River Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,565 ft
State
MN
Coordinates
47.73856, -90.77783
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Poplar River Campground · Superior National Forest · MN (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featurePoplar River (river) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townLutsen · ~7.9 mi
- Drinking water~4.9 mi
- FuelLockport Marketplace · ~7.9 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesClearview General Store · ~7.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicNorth Shore Health Hospital and Care Center · ~20.3 mi
- HardwareIsak Hansen Lumber & Home Center · ~8.4 mi
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →OpenStreetMap contributors mapped this site, and PAD-US, the federal land map, puts it on U.S. Forest Service land. The agency has not told us it lists it, so treat it as a good place to look, not a confirmed camp. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
Weather outlook — at Poplar River Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,565 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Poplar River CampgroundNIFC · AirNow
No dated fire rule on record for this camp: ask the Superior National Forest.
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Poplar River Campground · Superior National Forest · MN
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- WWater5 mi
- FFuel8 mi
- GGrocery8 mi
- LLaundry8 mi
- @Mail8 mi
- HHardware8 mi
- OOutfitter12 mi
- ShShower12 mi
- MMechanic19 mi
- +Urgent care19 mi
- RxPharmacy20 mi
- DDump52 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 8 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
Nearby restrooms — around Poplar River Campground · Superior National Forest · MN — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletPoplar River Rustic Campground · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWhite Pine Lake Boat Access · ~1.2 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWhite Pine Lake Rustic Campground · ~1.2 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWhite Pine Lake Fishing Pier · ~1.2 mi E · USFS
Coming out here — Poplar River Campground · Superior National Forest · MN
- Surface water mapped nearby: Poplar River (river). That is wash water at best, and nobody has checked it for you — a creek can be dry and a tank can be mud. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Poplar River Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Poplar River Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Poplar River Rustic Campground~0.0 mi
- White Pine Lake Rustic Campground~1.2 mi
- Clara Lake Rustic Campground~2.6 mi
- Clara Lake Campground~2.7 mi
The unit that manages Poplar River Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Poplar River Campground are set by Superior National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Poplar River Campground
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there) | auto:dup-merge 2026-08-20: same campground as the agency record 'Poplar River Rustic Campground' (within 60 m, different source). Archived to avoid two pins on one place; the agency row is authoritative because the agency named and placed it.
Field check
Contributed by OpenStreetMap. We did not get this from the agency; the land-manager name comes from PAD-US, the federal land map. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Poplar River Campground
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Poplar River Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Power off-grid →All field notes →